MD wants statins added to drinking water
 

OH MY GOD.

Some of us have joked that they'll be adding statins to our drinking water some day. Well, folks, an idiot with a medical degree has actually suggested that very thing.

Appropriately enough, his name is Dr. Reckless.

I am not making this up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3931157.stm

Hmmm.... Is his named an indication of his idea?

Actually, it sounds like a very good way to stimulate debate AGAINST adding statins to drinking water.

(Does anyone actually drink tap water anymore?)

water, water, everywhere
 

Don't forget, if this stuff goes into the water supply, you WILL drink it. It doesn't matter if you never fill a glass with water from the tap and drink it down. Most other beverages you can drink are made with water from our water systems, so don't think that because you only drink coffee, tea, diet sodas, or whatever, that you could avoid this.

What pharmacutical company sponsors this guy's research? Since when do they think thay can medicate a population without their consent? I think I stil have free will over my own health. A Dr. can recommend statin treatment and I am free to refuse his recomendation (which I would). Who could refuse to drink water? What's next, Prozac? Something else to make us more sheep-like?

They do it all the time with vaccines and I won't be surprised if they use this argument to add statins to water.

I do drink tap water, it's pretty good where I live, better than some of the bottled stuff. Plus, I find it silly to pay the outrageous price they ask for plain bottled water.

I wouldn't worry about it. They will never do it, as was pointed out, there are too many side effects to consider wholesale medication, such as he suggest. Just the fact that he suggested statin-free water for babies shows how ridiculous his ideas are.

It's just some lunatic idea that will never go anywhere.

Angeline, never say never. With the complacency of the population in general, this kind of thing could well happen. Most people (not on this board by any means) are very complacent about the government, their doctors, and other "authority" figures. Sure they may question little things, but if this were put properly, it would go over. Look at flouride. The precedent has already been set.

They'll never do it, not when statins are ruinous to certain peoples' livers. As was pointed out earlier on the thread, once it were added to the water supply it would become impossible to avoid totally. Even the nanny-state UK government is not going to take that kind of risk. Hell, they don't even have fluoride in the water over here.

The problem is that most people don't know how dangerous statins are. And even when they do, they take them anyway -- my dad is one of those, and I am convinced that statins are actually why he can't achieve a decent ratio, his HDL is way too low and won't go up even with low-carbing and eating plenty of fat.

The press around statins has been so skewed that even the report cited in this thread claims health benefits when the makers have to state on their websites that there is no proof statins prevent heart attacks.

Even in the UK, where they have started selling this stuff over the counter -- before the US mind you -- it could/will happen. If the medical/pharmeceutical community pushes hard enough, it will happen.

Wow...then we all would have another reason altogether to not drink the water in another country! :p

I was one of the people who campained against putting the brain killing chemical flouride in our water...we won, there is no flouride in the water in the UK and generally the water is of excellent quality. You are guarenteed to be able to drink tap water anywhere in the UK.

The would be no chance of putting anything in our tap water .

Are you saying you Americans actually allowed them to put flouride in your water?

Also vaccinations are done with our or a parent's consent.

I'm amazed at being able to buy them over the counter though. This is a country where you can only buy aspirin in bottles of 16 because they are afraid you are going to top yourself!

No, but there is a certain amount of arm-twisting in that children are not allowed to start school unless they are up to date on their immunizations. The only exception is that if the parent states that they will not immunize their child(ren) for religious reasons.



I don't believe anyone ever asked the American public if they wanted fluoride in their water...they just did it. I've seen articles in recent years, though, questioning the wisdom of that decision since you don't need to actually ingest the fluoride to get the benefit of strengthening teeth with it...simply swish and spit (or brush with fluoridated toothpaste).

I'm talking about the UK where kids can start school with vaccinations or not. I presume you're talking about the USA? The our in italics your our, not your. One of my uncles died as a direct result of vaccinations many years ago. My grandfather was involved in a subsequent court case which did away with any conpulsion to have kids vaccinated in this country.

Yes...unless Michigan has floated off and become part of Canada without my knowing about it. ;) :lol:
I'm sorry about your uncle and don't want to drag this thread too far OT, but immunizations have become considerably safer since that time and I'd say it's likely that far more children die as a result of diseases that could have been prevented through immunization than as a result of them.
Statins, however, are a whole other animal with the risks being downplayed by the pharmaceutical companies in hopes of boosting their sales and profits, not to mention that they treat a "disease" (hypercholesterolemia) that hasn't been shown conclusively to be a causative factor of death.